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Sunday, December 24, 2017

I'm always on the lookout for new things to try, and recently I added two new items to my inventory, just in time for the Holiday shopping season. The first one, Mug Rugs, was an easy one to turn out, and makes a wonderful Stocking Stuffer or small gift for a co-worker, child's teacher, etc.

These took about 15-20 minutes to make. Once I determined the length of cord I needed, and cut my strips of fabric, they were a cinch to make. And they have been selling in the gallery like little hot-cakes! Guess they will be a perennial item in my inventory from now on.

Another item I just started creating is 5-strand necklaces made from Ladder or Trellis ribbon yarn. And in the case of the one below, I added some eyelash yarn. These are adjustable length, with a bead in the back which slides up and down to make the adjustment.

Here is one where all 5 strands are the same length. These are made by single crocheting each strand separately, then knotting the strands together on either side with a 9" tail on the ends of each strand. Not shown is the bead in back, which I fed the tails thru then knotted close to the end of the tails.

I'm looking forward to making more of these, and experimenting with variations. The Ladder yarn comes in many colors (mostly available on-line now), and I have assembled quite a collection to play with.

This has been a very creative, prosperous year for me, with great sales at the gallery. I am looking forward to another year of happy creating, and want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sunday, November 12, 2017

It's been another busy month here as usual! I've been busy getting my holiday shopping stock beefed up and into the gallery:

Pictured here, an array of my Fringed Cut Velvet shawls and scarves. I also added a table in my regular booth space to display my Covered Notepads and Journals. No time yet to get a picture of that. I also have a full rack of my tie-dye shirts, Jackets and Skirts, as well as a selection of my coiled fabric bowls.

Speaking of my bowls, I was approached recently by some gals who wanted to know if I teach classes in coiled bowl making. I have wanted to do one for awhile, so I got their e-mail info and contacted our local quilt store. I have 2 class dates set up for next spring, and already have 6 people interested in taking the class... woo-hoo!

And if all this weren't enough to keep me busy, I've been doing some batik/ice dyed shirts:

Other than that, I haven't been doing a thing (she said, tongue in cheek!). Hard to believe 2017 is almost over, but it's been a very busy and successful year for me so far... lots to be thankful for!

Friday, October 6, 2017

Another month has flown by... I just keep getting caught up in things to try, new groups to follow on facebook... this time, it is Tie Dye Alternatives that has thrown me back into the past, and inspired me to re-visit some tie-dye patterns, coupled with using ice dyeing techniques instead of regular dyeing methods. Here is a recent one that I really love:

I haven't done the circular pattern for a long time, and when I did, it was more an "earth" pattern, but using the same method to create the arcs.

I have also delved a little into something called Dendritic monoprints, which I had to google to figure out what it is! It's a really cool design that happens when you apply some acrylic paints on a sheet of plexiglass, spread it evenly, then press another sheet of plexiglass on top. When you remove your hands and lift the second sheet off, you have some really neat tree-like patterns. Then you place a piece of paper or fabric on top and very gently press to make the print - you an use both sheets to make prints. Here are a few I did recently:

Do I know what I'm going to do with these? Not yet. I also want to experiment on fabric too... just need more time!

One more thing I started, which I will be doing more of soon - cut velvet dyed scarves:

I think these will make great holiday gifts, or an elegant addition to a holiday outfit, don't you? I hope to have these in the gallery sometime in the near future. Okay, time to get back to it!

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

I know, it's only September, and already I'm talking about the holidays? Well, this is when I switch gears, creatively. Another Flagstaff Open Studios Tour is in the can (good turnout, low sales but got some custom orders), so it is now time to start thinking about making gift items to put in the Arts Connection Gallery, because believe it or not, people are already starting to look for gifts to give during the holiday celebrations! Some items I will be offering again this year are:

Covered Notepads

Covered Journals

Hand dyed Grocery Totes

Chiffon scarf using Permanent markers and alcohol

Drizzle dyed Habotai scarf

Silk/Rayon Devore Cutout Scarf, Bamboo Pattern

And of course, I will also have a good selection of tie-dye clothing and my coiled fabric bowls and vessels. Fortunately, I have a pretty good supply of those items, so I can focus on adding to my gift inventory. So that's what I will be doing over the next couple of months, and maybe I'll even get a minute or two to do some (dreaded!) housework! Hope you are all having a good summer!

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Just a quick post to show the 2 pieces I will be exhibiting (and hopefully selling!) at our Prelude Exhibit, which opens next Saturday at the Arts Connection Gallery in the Flagstaff Mall:

This is a covered bowl, and utilizes a piece of black walnut branch for a handle. I made leaves from Lutradur, a man-made fiber which is very versatile. I painted it, stitched the leaf veins and outline, cut them out, then distressed them with my heat gun. To finish them, I added a cluster of pearl-like beads strung on copper wire. I really love how this came out!

This is one of my rayon jackets, dyed using whiffle balls to create a color burst effect. I love the colors - fuchsia and garabaldi orange... yummy!

I will post pictures of the opening which is always a great event... Flagstaff really turns out to support its artists!

Monday, July 17, 2017

This year I will be participating in the 20th Annual Flagstaff Open Studios Tour, a 2-day event where artists throughout the area open their studios to the public for demonstrations and sales. This will be the 9th year for me, and the 8th sharing space with my friend Cinde at her lovely home.

Me and Cinde at the Opening of the Prelude Exhibit, 2016

Each year, we hold a month-long exhibit of the participating artists' work prior to the Tour, and we will again be in our wonderful Arts Connection gallery at the Flagstaff Mall. Opening Reception for the Prelude Exhibit will be Saturday, August 5 from 6 - 8pm at the Arts Connection Gallery, located in the Flagstaff Mall. If you are in the area, I hope you will stop by either for the Opening or sometime during the month of August!

Here is one of the 2 pieces I will have on display this year... something that came out totally different than what I originally had in mind!

I started out thinking I would make a coiled bowl that would be large enough to contain a potted plant, just to do something a little different. Instead, I ended up making a covered bowl, utilizing a branch of black walnut for a handle, and creating a cluster of leaves with bead "berries" as an embellishment. You never know where the muse will take you, and I'm glad I decided to just follow her instead of trying to have my own way!

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

I have no excuse for not posting since May, other than I've been busy in the studio, the gallery, etc. What do I have to show for all that time away? Lots of sales and lots of dyeing and bowl making! Here is a picture I took yesterday:

I'm on display in the center window of the gallery - One of my "Easy Breezy" rayon dresses, with an array of silk and rayon scarves, and a sprinkling of my hand-sewn "Shabby Chic" scarves. This dress is the last one until my next order comes in tomorrow, then I'll be dyeing up a storm to try and sell some more before the end of July. August 1 we take town the gallery and get it set up for the "Prelude" exhibit starting Aug. 5. That exhibit will show pieces from all the artists (me included) who will be participating in this year's Open Studios tour the last weekend of August, so I'll be busy getting ready for that, then back in the gallery for the regular event in September.
Before I close, I do want to show off a couple of things I have been working on this summer:

This is a coiled fabric coaster set, complete with lidded container, shown here on a piece of the fabric used to make the set.

This is one of my permanent marker and alcohol silk scarves... these have sold very well, and I hope to complete several more for Open Studios.

I hope you are having a great summer, full of wonderful creative activities!

Monday, May 29, 2017

I have moved my shop to Facebook, and will be adding items over the coming weeks & months. I hope you will follow the link located in the right column and browse what I have listed so far... and don't forget to let your friends/family know! Here are a few of the items I have listed so far:

Elegant Drape Jacket

Ladies Tie-dye tank top

Infant Short Sleeve Tie-dye Romper

If you go out to my facebook shop and "Like" my page, you should get updates whenever I add new items to the shop. Let me know how you like it, or if you have any suggestions for items you would like to see listed there!

Sunday, May 14, 2017

I have been in a flurry of activity lately, and really enjoying it, but have neglected to write about it! Let me see if I can remember everything and make note of it now.
First off, I have been working over the past year on several coiled vessels, such as this one:

I wanted to make a vase-like structure, then decided to make some flowers to go with it. The flowers I made for this one were out of fabric scraps, and they took a long time to complete, but they did the job.

Other vessels were embellished with dried arrangements, but I wanted more options. So my next step was to try making paper flowers. Here is one of my first attempts:

I like these, but they are limited and size-wise are fairly large. So out to the internet I went on a quest for information, and I ended up ordering this book:

This of course let me to start gathering various papers, stem materials, etc. to begin learning the fine art of making paper flowers. I will be reporting about this in future posts... have yet to find time to get into it, but hope to clear the worktable off soon!

Meanwhile, I recently joined a Facebook group of fellow bowl and vessel makers, and have been truly inspired by all their beautiful work! And I have finally begun to learn how to make vessels with necks, such as this:

I just finished this one yesterday, and hope to have flowers to go with it soon!

So while all that has been going on, I also joined another Facebook group on Alcohol Inks... a very exciting medium, and one I have wanted to explore for awhile now. While I was waiting to order some supplies, I reached back into my cache of saved inspirations and decided to revisit using permanent markers and alcohol to color silk scarves. I had a few Chiffon scarves that I had bought to dye with regular Procion MX dyes, but the first few I tried last year came out horrid (in my opinion!), so I decided I would experiment on Chiffon with the markers & alcohol. I drew some simple designs on the first one, and thought it would end up in the trash can until I applied 91% alcohol to it... I wish I had made a video of the transformation, but here is the end result:

Sunday, March 26, 2017

I got busy this month and dyed some more of my new jackets. These are both ice dyed... I love the color separation, especially on the first one!

And I just had to make a bowl with these two fabrics... love the colors together!

This view shows the air-dryed clay bead I made to accent the medallion.

I've got a little break coming in April - the Arts Connection gallery will be exhibiting the 15th Annual Recycled Art show, so I won't be gallery sitting and will have some time to do a little more ice-dyeing, hopefully! Oh, and we're working on a garage clean-out, and the weather is warming a little, so I'll be playing in the garden too. Time flies when you keep coming up with projects, right?

Sunday, February 12, 2017

After spending time experimenting with some painting techniques on paper and fabric, I finally got back to work creating items to sell in the gallery:

I was inspired to make this vessel from a picture I saw on-line of a yarn-wrapped vessel. I love the shape, although I wanted a little longer 'neck'... maybe next time I will get there.

Our gallery manager asked if I could make a jacket in light, spring green tones for the front window display. Above is my first one - almost looks like spring grasses peaking out from under the snow.

Here is one of my new jacket styles - rayon waterfall jacket, done in a "novas" style with the same greens I used for the cotton jacket shown above it. Interesting how the colors translate differently between the cotton and rayon, isn't it?

I have a third jacket in dyeing now - slightly different style, but I think it will be a popular one. Here's a photo of one, un-dyed:

I think these are going to come out really great - eye-catchers for sure! Stay tuned... I will post pix of the dyed ones soon...

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post! It got really busy there for awhile, but I'm ready to take a little time to play with some new techniques! I actually started playing in this area last year, but got stuck and put things aside. Well, I just got a copy of Sherrill Kahn's DVD "Acrylie Paint Pizzazz Collage Techniques for Paper & Fabric", which is a great companion to her 2 books which I got a year or so back.
Here are a couple of shots of some of my playtime, waiting for the DVD to arrive:

Various paints applied with brushes, sponge stamps and a patterned brayer (thanks Lynda Heines, for the info on these!).

I decided to cull through a huge selection of magazines I have amassed over the years, clipping out words and images I might be able to use in some collages.

Got these books at least a year ago, and fell in love with Sherrill's work!

Recently found out about this DVD - it's the ABC's of Sherrill's techniques, and I can't wait to dive in and start trying them out. I have started an order of paints, and am making sure I have all supplies on hand, then I'll dive in!

On another note, I have had a fabulous year selling my work at the Arts Connection Gallery in the Flagstaff Mall! We have been there a little more than a year now, and have had great support from shoppers all year!

Happy New Year to you all, and I hope to have some results to post soon!

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This is a journal of my creative efforts, with a little personal philosophy thrown in to add spice to the mix. Visit my website at www.tiedyejudy.com, my Facebook page Judy Sall Originals, and my twitter feed @judy_sall.